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Lousie Badger is an arts admininistrator and writer from Britain. She and her husband decided to move to Italy after years spent holidaying there. In 2007 they found a run down villa in Tuscany they were keen to buy. But it came with one condition - if they wanted to buy the house, they had to take in the previous owner's dog who still lived there. So began their years with dog Todo in Tuscany. They also met and befriended locals in the area who were sculptors, singers and musicians. Louise wrote a book about the adventure called "Todo in Tuscany" (Hachette, 2012).

Patricia Routledge is an acclaimed British actress of stage, television and film. She's won a Tony Award and Olivier Award for her musical theatre roles. In the 1980s she appeared on British television performing monologues by Alan Bennett written especially for her. Her television roles have included the much loved Hyacinth Bucket in "Keeping Up Appearances" and the title character in "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates". She is now performing in a stage play about Myra Hess who curated musical concerts in London and across England during World War II.

Adam Alter is the author of "Drunk Tank Pink (And other unexpected forces that shape how we think, feel and behave)" (2014). In the book he discusses his research about the everyday cues that subconsciously transform and inform our behaviour. He's Marketing Professor at New York University with an affiliate appointment in the Psychology Department at NYU. His research focuses on decision making and social psychology. He grew up in Australia and completed his PhD at Princeton University.

Dr Peter Pedersen is a leading Australian military historian. He's written about World War I and his books include "Anzac's at War" (2010) and "The Anzacs - from Gallipoli to the Western Front". He has written six books in total on the First World War, plus numerous articles about the Second World War and the Vietnam War. He has led battlefield tours all over the world and appears regularly on Australian radio and television.

John Bell is one of Australia's most acclaimed actors and directors of theatre and co-Artistic Director of The Bell Shakespeare Company, which he formed in 1990. The Company has toured the country staging Shakespeare's plays for audiences across all ages, especially for school students studying Shakespeare's works. In 1997 he was named by the National Trust of Australia as one of Australia's Living Treasures.

Dr Tim Stephens is Co-Director of the Sydney Centre for International Law. An international lawyer and human geographer, Dr Stephens has published widely on issues of public international law, national and international environmental law and the law of the sea.

Randy Newman is an acclaimed singer songwriter, composer, arranger and pianist. He's won Grammy awards, Emmy Awards and two Oscars. He's composed the film scores to mega hit Pixar animated films such as "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc". He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. His songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Dusty Springfield, Gene Pitney, Nina Simone, Pat Boone and Art Garfunkel.

Wayside Chapel pastor and CEO Graham Long has seen life's struggles and hardships up close during his 10 years in the job. He details some of the difficulties he's faced in his own life in his memoir "Love Over Hate".

Ted Kotcheff is a Canadian director of television, film and theatre. His most famous film credits include "Wake in Fright" (1971), "Fun with Dick and Jane" (1977 with George Segal and Jane Fonda), "North Dallas Forty" (1979, recently selected by the LA Times as the best ever film about American football) and "First Blood" (1982, the first Rambo film starring Sylvester Stallone).

Ralph Fiennes is a British stage and screen actor best known for his film roles in "The English Patient", "The Constant Gardener" and as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. Fiennes has also directed two feature films - 2011's "Coriolanus" and "The Invisible Woman" about Nelly Ternan and her relationship with the author Charles Dickens. "The Invisible Woman" opens in nationally in cinemas in Australia this Thursday April 17.

Sarah Whatmore is Professor of Environment and Public Policy and Head of the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. She was recipient of the Cuthbert Peek award in 2003 for 'innovative contributions to the understanding of nature-society relations'. Her recent projects have looked at flood risk management in parts of the UK and the badger cull in the UK.

The Honourable Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 until 1991, making him Labor's longest-serving Prime Minister. He was President of the ACTU from 1970-1980. In 2009 he helped establish the Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1979. He has been referred to as "the heart and soul of the Labor Party" by former PM Kevin Rudd.

Lisa Goldberg is a founding member of Monday Morning Cooking Club - a group of six women who've been meeting every Monday morning for eight years to cook, share and preserve recipes. They have just published their second book "Monday Morning Cooking Club - the Feast Goes On" (Harper Collins).

Christopher Parker is an American social scientist and author. His latest book is about reactionary conservatives in the USA and the rise of the Tea Party. He is in Australia as a guest of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He is currently working with an Australian academic David Smith on collecting information about conservatives in Australian politics and comparing them to American conservative parties and groups.